Lawmakers set to question new parks director

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — After months of scrutinizing financial and operational mismanagement at the state agency that oversees the most beautiful and historic places in California, legislators will be looking for answers Tuesday when they grill the new acting director.

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Posted Feb. 19, 2013 at 2:08 PM

Posted Feb. 19, 2013 at 2:08 PM

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — After months of scrutinizing financial and operational mismanagement at the state agency that oversees the most beautiful and historic places in California, legislators will be looking for answers Tuesday when they grill the new acting director.

Last week, another audit described a flawed Department of Parks and Recreation that kept millions of dollars hidden in a secret fund even as the legislature sought to close 70 of the state's 270 parks to save money.

One revelation in the audit was that administrators did not know the operating costs of each park, so it would have been impossible to gauge the savings the targeted closures would have brought.

State Auditor Elaine Howle is scheduled to appear before the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to answer questions about the most recent investigation into $54 million discovered in two special funds kept hidden for years.

Last fall Gov. Jerry Brown appointed a retired Marine Corps major general, Anthony Jackson, to turn around the beleaguered parks department. Jackson pledged then to restore integrity to the department and is expected to appear as well.

California's parks include redwood forests, spectacular beaches and cultural relics from the Gold Rush era. The discovery of the secret $54 million fund came as dozens of volunteer groups were working to raise funds and form partnerships to keep open most of the parks on the closure list.

Many of the nonprofit volunteer groups discovered then that the department did not have a grasp on local parks' operating costs. Howle's audit showed that department administrators were estimating the operating costs for individual parks using decade-old figures based on geographic regions.

"Without updated and complete estimates of the costs to operate each park, it is difficult to accurately estimate the amount the department would save by closing a given park, and to measure the impact of partnership agreements that provide funding to help pay parks' operating costs and offset the effects of budget reductions," the audit said.

The department has a budget of nearly $574 million in the current fiscal year, which comes from the state general fund, various bond funds, user fees and off-highway vehicle registration fees.

The actual amount intentionally hidden in the State Parks and Recreation Fund was $20 million, and the remaining $34 million discrepancy in an off-highway vehicle fund was due to differences in the timing of the fund reports to the state finance department and the controller's office.

The amount of money kept hidden had grown as high as $29 million in 2003, the attorney general's office reported in an earlier investigation.

Parks Director Ruth Coleman resigned and a senior department official was fired last summer.

The Howle audit said several budget officers brought their concerns about discrepancies in the fund balances to top officials. But they were told to continue misreporting the amount of money in the special funds because administrators were afraid the department's budget would be cut if lawmakers and the governor knew the true figure.

The auditor recommended the parks department establish detailed procedures that compare year-end financial statements to ensure that the ending fund balances reported to the governor's budget and state controller's budget are the same.

She also recommended that officials determine how much it costs to fully operate each park.